1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device with a touch panel provided therein and a driving method thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Touch panels are a type of input device that is included in display devices such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, field emission displays (FEDs), plasma display panels (PDPs), electroluminescent displays (ELDs), and electrophoretic displays (EPDs), and enables a user to input information by directly touching a screen with a finger, a pen or the like while looking at the screen of the display device.
Touch panels are configured as various types depending on a disposed position in a display device.
First, a touch panel may be configured as an on-cell type in which the touch panel is adhered to an upper end surface of a display panel.
Second, a touch panel may be configured as an in-cell type in which two electrodes configuring the touch panel are formed on the same layer of a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate configuring an LCD device.
Third, a touch panel may be configured as a hybrid type in which one of two electrodes configuring the touch panel is formed at a TFT substrate configuring an LCD device, and the other is formed at an upper end surface of a color filter substrate.
The in-cell type touch panel and the hybrid type touch panel may be applied to LCD devices, but an on-cell type touch panel may be adhered to an upper end surface of a display panel configuring a display device irrespective of a kind of the display device.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method in which a related art display device with a touch panel provided therein senses a touch.
The method in which the related art display device with the touch panel provided therein senses a touch, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes operation S102 in which a touch integrated circuit (IC) receives a sensing signal (raw data) from the touch panel, operation S104 that detects a touch region by using the sensing signal (raw data), operation S106 that extracts touch coordinates of the touch region, and operation S108 that transfers the extracted touch coordinates to a touch use unit which performs various functions by using the touch coordinates of the touch region.
When a plurality of sensing signals are respectively received from a plurality of touch electrodes formed in the touch panel, the related art display device successively performs operations S102 to S108 on all of the plurality of sensing signals.
That is, even when it is determined as the detected result in operation S104 that a touch is performed in a broad region in which it is unable to determine whether a specific menu is selected or a specific control signal is indicated, since the sensing signal is received through operation S102, the touch IC performs operation S106 of extracting the touch coordinates of the touch region by using the sensing signal and operation S108 of transferring the touch coordinates.
For example, when a user uses a display device (which has a greater size than palms like a tablet personal computer (PC)) disposed on a desk, a portion of the user's palm or a lower portion of a fisted hand may touch a touch panel. In this case, a broader region than a region touched by a finger or a pen may be detected as a touch region in operation S104.
An effective touch may be performed in the above-described broad region. However, even when the broad region is detected as the touch region, the related art display device performs operation S106 of extracting the touch coordinates of the touch region, and transfers the extracted touch coordinates to the touch use unit.
Moreover, even when any touch region is not sensed, the related art display device sequentially performs operation S106 of extracting the touch coordinates and operation S108 of transferring the touch coordinates. In this case, the touch coordinates are not extracted in operation S106, and information about there being no touch coordinates is transferred to the touch use unit in operation S108.
That is, even when a sensing signal incapable of being determined as a normal touch is received or a sensing signal with no touch is received, the related art display device sequentially performs a series of processes that determine a touch region in operation S104, extract touch coordinates in operation S106, and transfer the touch coordinates in operation S108.
However, operation S106 of extracting touch coordinates of a broader touch region than a normal touch region or operation S106 of extracting touch coordinates when there is no touch becomes an unnecessary operation. Due to the unnecessary operation, a processing speed of the touch IC can be reduced, and the touch IC can cause a malfunction.
Moreover, as described above, when touch coordinates of a broad touch region are detected as normal touch coordinates, the touch use unit can cause a malfunction.